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HK cling to slender hopes of snatching a slice of ICC funding pie

Teenager Mark Chapman's crucial run-out against the United Arab Emirates might come back to haunt Hong Kong, but against the odds they can still clinch US$300,000 in funding with just one win at the ICC World Cricket League division two tournament.

That windfall depends on the other two results in the final round of matches going their way.

The UAE need to maintain their unbeaten record and defeat Bermuda, and Papua New Guinea must beat Uganda.

If these happen, even a defeat today against Namibia - probably the strongest squad in the six-team competition - might not spell relegation to division three next year.

Thanks to a win over Uganda, Hong Kong somehow find themselves in fourth place.

'In the worst-case scenario of losing, we have to hope that the UAE and PNG do us a favour by winning, and that we don't get completely blown away by Namibia. But, of course, we are going into the game with a positive frame of mind and looking for a win,' Hong Kong head coach Charlie Burke said

Hong Kong have been left to rue Chapman's dismissal for 81 as they chased 227 against the UAE on Monday. He was run out responding to a suicidal call from captain Najeeb Amar.

From 172 for six, Hong Kong slumped to 208 all out, throwing away victory and a secure place in the top four, which would earn recognition as an ICC high-performance country and qualify them for increased funding.

Now they face a battle with Namibia, who defeated them easily in a practice match last week, and must hope that luck favours them in the other two games.

'As long as we keep it nice and tight against Namibia, and don't let our net run rate suffer too badly, we should be OK, even if we lose,' Burke said.

'If we can beat Namibia, we still can control our destiny, but otherwise, it is out of our hands.'

Najeeb has lost the toss in the past three matches and this has proven crucial, as sides winning the toss tend to bat first and have emerged winners defending a total.

'The toss will be important. We need to bat first and get our net run rate up. But to do this, we need to bat a bit more cleverly,' Burke said.

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